catastrophe and the cure
by JacksonFrost
Summary: Because she's a beautiful catastrophe, spiraling out of control, and he might be good for her. -LucyLorcan


_for Ela, happy belated birthday! everyone, if you like this or LucyLorcan in general, you MUST check out her (never-ending nights with you's) LucyLorcan stories because they are, in a word, amazing. (: _

_song title belongs to Explosions in the Sky._

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_**catastrophe and the cure**

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She's a beautiful catastrophe, spiraling out of control and laughing the whole time. The defiant Slytherin green streak in her brown hair makes her mother cry, the killer heels and the short skirts make her father grow white and tightlipped. She's nothing like the sweet girl she once was, there's a fire in her eyes that scalds anyone who comes too close, and after a while, people stop trying.

"You could be good for Lucy," Percy says to him one night, when he is awkwardly standing in the foyer, waiting for Lysander to stop snogging Molly and go home.

"Oh, er, I haven't talked to her in ages," Lorcan mumbles, looking away from Percy's hopeful eyes.

There's a brief commotion upstairs and Lorcan and Percy listen silently to a low voice followed by Molly's indignant shout. It sounds like someone is stomping down the stairs, and Percy smiles. "That must be Lucy now. You can meet her."

Lorcan nods helplessly as Lucy stomps into the foyer and stops short when she sees them. She stands there, teetering in killer heels and a barely-there skirt, her hair lying perfectly stick straight, every single Weasley curl ironed out. Lorcan is entranced.

"Lucy, this is Lorcan," Percy says in a too-bright voice. "Lysander is his brother."

"Is Lysander the guy who has his tongue down Molly's throat as we speak?" Lucy asks, bored. Her voice is surprisingly soft.

Percy winces. "Lysander is Molly's boyfriend, as I would hope you know, Luce. Anyway, Lorcan is going to be a seventh year too. He's a Ravenclaw."

Lucy smirks at him and points to the vibrant green streak in her hair. "Slytherin."

Lorcan nods and tries to think of something witty to say, but fails to come up with anything. "That's good."

She blinks at him through the angry strikes of thick black eyeliner, and turns to her father. "I'm going now."

"Where?" Percy demands. "It's eleven o'clock at night, where could you possibly be going?"

Lucy shrugs. "Out."

Percy shakes his head resolutely. "No. I'm sorry, Lucy, I cannot allow this. And your mother would have something to say about this outfit, I'll tell you that right now."

"She's not here right now, is she?" Lucy snaps, and glares at Lorcan for no apparent reason. "Dad, Molly is upstairs practically having sex with her boyfriend, and that's okay, but me going out with some friends isn't?" Her voice rises and faint spots of color appear on her cheeks. Lorcan can't stop staring.

Percy blanches. "Molly!" he shouts. "Get down here! Lucy, I'm sorry, but the answer is no."

Lucy looks like she's going to argue, but Lorcan cuts her off. "What if I go with her?"

She gapes at him, but Percy is grinning. "That's fine. Okay sweetie? Go out with Lorcan. Molly, I mean it!"

Lorcan wonders if she's going to protest, or worse, stomp back up to her room, but she shrugs. "Fine. Let's go."

They stumble out the door, and Lucy turns to Lorcan. "Thanks."

"No-no problem," Lorcan stammers. "Where are we going?"

Lucy raises her eyebrows at him. "I was going to a club, but…you probably want to go someplace different."

Lorcan tries not to gulp. "A club is fine," he says bravely. "I've never been to one before, so it should be exciting, right?"

Lucy smirks and Lorcan immediately wishes he didn't say anything. She smiles though, and pats his hand. "Well, I'll just have to corrupt you then," she says, and flashes him a brilliant smile.

He should be feeling wary, but instead, he grins and nods and can't seem to bring himself to care.

~.

They stumble out of the club at two in the morning, Lucy holding on tight to his hand, their laughter ringing through the nighttime air. Their laughter slowly dies in a series of hiccupping breaths, and Lucy looks at him and pouts. "I don't want to go home."

Lorcan grins at her, feeling the adrenaline and beer pound through his veins. "Come over to my place. My parents are off in Norway, chasing the Horntail Something-or-the-Other."

Lucy shrugs, and looks at him from the corner of her eyes. "Okay."

"Okay," Lorcan repeats, smiling widely. "Then let's go."

~.

The television flickers in the dim lighting of Lorcan's room, but neither of them are paying attention. Lorcan is half-listening to the words tumbling out of his mouth- he's telling her his whole fucking life story and he doesn't seem to be able to stop- and half-watching Lucy's face- how her eyes sparkle with interest and how she chews on her lip when she's listening. He doesn't know why she would care that he feels like he should miss his parents' attention, but can't miss what he never had, or how his relationship with Lysander is a constant struggle of power, but somehow, impossibly, she does.

He dwindles into silence after a while and smiles tiredly. "Sorry. Didn't mean to unload all that on you."

Lucy lifts her head from the crook of his arms and gazes at him. "No," she says, smiling slightly. "It was interesting. Thanks for telling me."

"And what makes Lucy Weasley tick?" Lorcan asks, suddenly intensely curious. "Come on, I told you all about me, I want to hear about you."

"There's nothing to tell," Lucy says, the guarded look suddenly back in her eyes. "I don't have an interesting life. It's just disappointment Lucy and perfect Molly playing out their lives and nobody cares because they all know how it's going to turn out."

"I don't," Lorcan says earnestly. "Tell me."

"It's just- I've been a major disappointment ever since I was eleven and the hat said Slytherin," Lucy says, her eyes shining. "And nothing I did was ever good enough, but everything Molly did was always so freaking impressive and amazing. So eventually I stopped trying, and I'm still a disappointment, but it doesn't hurt as much."

Lorcan studies her for a moment as she glares at him, trying to regain her tough persona, but the illusion is shattered. "Has anyone ever told you that you look a lot prettier without all that black shit under your eyes?"

Startled, Lucy laughs. "Yeah. My parents."

"Well, take that from a non-parental, non-platonic perspective," Lorcan says, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and smirking. "And Lucy, you've been the opposite of a disappointment with me. This night has been amazing."

"You say that now, but trust me, if you get to know me, you'll start expecting stuff," Lucy says, her eyes glittering. "And I'm not good with expectations."

Lorcan protectively draws her closer to him and places a chaste kiss on the top of her head. "I think you're perfect the way you are. Black shit under your eyes, and all."

Lucy smiles and it lights up the whole room. And then her eyes dim as she carefully kisses his cheek and stands up. "You're a good guy, Lorcan," she says, gathering her things. "I don't want to hurt you. This isn't going to work." She smiles sadly and shrugs, and then she's gone, disappeared into the night.

Lorcan sits there, stunned, and then his brain catches up to him and he's on his feet and running. He catches up with her on the street and she whirls around angrily and then he's kissing her like he's never kissed anyone before. "I love you, Lucy Weasley," Lorcan pants out between kisses. "I know it's crazy and I know I just met you, but I've never met anyone like you before, and I think I'm in love."

"You don't even know me," Lucy says breathlessly, her eyes bright.

"I know enough," Lorcan says stubbornly. "And I want to know more."

Lucy hesitates, and then she's kissing him back, desperately and hungrily and like Lorcan is the only anchor tying her to the ground. "Maybe I think I love you too," she whispers, and Lorcan's responding smile is as bright as the sun.

Because she's a beautiful catastrophe, spiraling out of control, but when Lorcan's there to catch her, she thinks she'll be okay.


End file.
